August: Osage County Cast

A newcomer to Ohio, Bill is honored to be working with the Black Swamp Players for the first time. He has worked in Florida, Ohio, Maryland, Virginia, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and New York City for 15 years. Film and television credits include Miller Beer, Dr. Pepper, The Toledo Museum of Art, and Ziebart Commercials as well as Rage of Angels, Falling in Love, and The Muppets Take Manhattan. As “Sweet Willie P—The Master Jock of Solid Rock,” Bill was a radio and club DJ. Favorite roles include Uncle Willie in The Sunshine Boys, Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls, Will Parker in Oklahoma!, The Courier in 1776, Motel in Fiddler on the Roof, Action in West Side Story, Barnaby Tucker in Hello Dolly!, and Lank Hawkins in Crazy for You. Since moving to Ohio, Bill has been featured in two TV commercials, seven live stage productions, three music videos, eight films, a murder reenactment which aired on PBS, and a Zombie in Cleveland.

Monica made her acting debut at age 54 after taking an improv class to overcome her fear of being on stage. After several plays she began acting classes at Michigan Actors Studio and has recently completed a program there. The last year has been an unexpectedly busy one for Monica who has been appearing on stage (via Zoom, livestream and/or in front of live audiences) from Bowling Green to Lansing. Some of her favorite roles this year include Joan in The Guys (TBD Productions), Willa in The Wild Women of Winedale (A Wilde Professional Theater, Brighton, Michigan) and Judy Shepard/Catherine Connolly in The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later (Owens Community College). Monica has coveted the role of Violet for over a year, after performing a scene from August: Osage County in a scene study class. She is grateful to be part of this cast and working with director Heath A. Diehl.

Annelise Clifton is excited to be back on the stage with Black Swamp Players in a bucket list role. Annelise was most recently seen in Waterville Playshops’ Matilda (Miss Trunchbull). Annelise is one of the founders of TBD Productions and joined Matt Zwyer on stage in TBD’s first production, the two-hander Gidion’s Knot (Corryn). Other selected theatre credits include Talking With (Moira/Fifteen Minutes), The Drowsy Chaperone (Woman in Chair); The Addams Family (Morticia); To Kill a Mockingbird (Miss Maudie); A Christmas Carol (Mrs. Crachit); and, Sister Act (Ensemble).

Lane is beyond excited to be performing in The Oak Street Theater for the first time, although he has appeared in many, many BSP shows previously. He is a current trustee and former president of BSP. Lane is so pleased to be one of hundreds who have joined together to make BSP’s Oak Street Theater a reality. This is a proud moment for BSP and our community. Lane wants to thank you for being one of the people who have made this moment possible. Lane has been an actor, director, stage hand, and set builder at theaters across Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan appearing in over 80 productions in the past 20 years. Most recently in WGTE’s production of The Shop Around the Corner in December. None of this could happen without the patience and understanding of his beautiful and beloved wife, Heidi. Lane would like to dedicate his performance in August: Osage County to the memory of his friend Bob Welly without whom our Oak Street Theater does not exist.

Kylie Schmehl is super excited to be playing Jean Fordham in “August: Osage County.” Kylie is 18 and a freshman at Bowling Green State University studying Adolescent to Young Adults: Integrated Language Arts; she hopes to become a high school English teacher. This is Kylie’s first show with the Black Swamp Players, but she has done a plethora of shows before; some of her favorites are: “The Crucible” (Betty), “Brighton Beach Memoirs” (Laurie), and “Love/Sick” (Maddie). She would like to thank Dr. Diehl for this fantastic opportunity and her fellow cast and crewmates for doing an amazing job and making her feel welcome. Kylie also wishes to shoutout Thespian Troupe 2898 and Mr. Kind from Lake Orion High School for teaching her everything she knows to love.

Cyndy is very excited to be a part of this incredible production! Her recent stage adventures include Toledo Rep's A Christmas Carol (Mrs. Fezziwig), Black Swamp's Talking With (The (snake) Handler), Waterville Playshop's Addams Family (Alice Beineke), and The Croswell Opera House's Music Man (Mrs. Paroo). New off stage adventures include hanging out and spoiling new granddaughter, Hayley! Cyndy would like to thank her husband, Steve, for his love, patience, and support of her growing theater hobby! Thank you for your continued support of Black Swamp Players!

This is John Toth's first time working with Black Swamp Players. He teaches theatre and film classes at Owens; he is also a filmmaker and you can find his work at iHateThisStupidBike on YouTube. He's also unsure of what else to write in his bio but would like to say he is really happy to be a part of this show and to work with this fantastic cast!

Tiffany Scarola is currently an Associate Teaching Professor and Associate Chair in the English department at Bowling Green State University where she teaches courses in the First-Year Writing Sequence, as well as Science and Technical Writing. She has attended several of the Black Swamp Players’ productions in the past and this is Tiffany’s third production with the Black Swamp Players. Her debut performance with BSP was as “Lamps” aka “Lila” in Talking With. Since Talking With, Tiffany has appeared alongside Katya Dachik and Heath Diehl as “Steffy” in I Ought to be in Pictures, and reprised her role as “Lila” in the Talking With encore performance. And, while she has a love of live theatre and has attended a great deal of live productions, she experienced a brief hiatus after debuting in her 8th grade production of The Mystery Liner. Tiffany is thrilled to be returning to the Black Swamp Players as “Ivy” with the talented cast in August Osage County and is looking forward to many more performances in the future. When Tiffany is not teaching or performing she writes, and is currently working on a play and a novel.

Samantha has been on the stage since a young age, acting in such shows as “Once Upon a Mattress,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Lend Me a Tenor,” “Noises Off” and “Grease.” After taking a long hiatus, her most recent return to the stage was as Janet in “Rocky Horror Show” and now she’s excited to perform again as Karen Weston! Samantha is an avid writer, pet portrait artist and dog mama to two spoiled rotten chihuahuas. Many thanks to her husband for keeping the household in order as she galavants around town reprising her theater career ;)

Jonathan Chambers has performed over 40 roles in both educational and professional contexts. Directing credits at BGSU include Mr. Burns, a post-electric play; Threepenny Opera; Diana of Dobson’s; Twelfth Night; Middletown; Urinetown; Blue/Orange; The Seagull; The Arabian Nights; Bloody Poetry; The Importance of Being Earnest; Unity: 1918; Quiet in the Land; and She Stoops to Conquer. With Broken Spectacle, and independent theatre company he runs with Sara Lipinski Chambers, he has directed Exit, Pursued by a Bear and The Christians, and played the role of Bob in Swimming in the Shallows.

Karen Noble is thrilled to be back on the main stage with the Black Swamp Players! She was most recently seen in BSP’s production of Talking With doing the monologue Clear Glass Marbles. She also was the Mother in the online production of Nothing Good Happens After Midnight with the BSP and Shirley in the Toledo Rep’s staged reading of Barrenness. Pre Covid, she appeared as Suzanne in Psych and Julia Lyle in the BSP fundraiser Murder at the Pie Auction. She has been a teacher at Eastwood Schools for 33 years and sings with the fifth place International Award-winning Scioto Valley Chorus of Sweet Adeline’s International. She would like to thank her family (Nora and Kristin) and friends for their continued support and encouragement. Karen is grateful and humbled to have the opportunity to work with this very talented cast, director, and crew.

Steve Bishop was born just north of the muddy Maumee River, and was raised within walking distance of its southern shore. The first time he found himself on a Bowling Green stage was in a production of David Mamet's “Glengarry Glen Ross”; the last was as the mad Thane in Billy's “Mackers” (or, Shakespeares' “Macbeth”), with parts ranging from monkey (Milton in David Ives' “Words, Words, Words”) to a Major (Petkoff in “Arms and the Man” by G.B. Shaw) amidst. Steve is honored to be allowed to warm the space in this show. He is grateful to have the opportunity to be a paint, and a few brushstrokes, in this unblinking portrait of a "Midwestern" (though some say "Plains'') family's dynamic as it ripples and flexes in response to the disappearance of their patriarch. When not politely fending off the zeitgeist with all his might, Steve indulges many joys, among them: a good night's rest, a fine cup of coffee, a nice walkabout, also stretching metaphor, with hyperbole, into new forms, and words, like “hyperphor” or “metabole.” As the future is unknowable, Steve hopes you enjoy your time at the show.

Warren’s last theatre credit was “Captain Hero” in “The Trial of Captain Hero” in high school 35 years ago. He is excited to kiss his wife on stage … it so rarely happens anywhere else. Warren’s deep love of storytelling and creating community among people who may not be like-minded led him to create TBD Productions, a theatre company that focuses on engaging audiences in conversation about the themes of the plays they attend. TBD has produced “Gidion’s Knot,” “The Guys,” and “Constellations” and will be offering “Motherhood Out Loud” in May.